Complexity and Simplicity
by thealycat
Summary: Sometimes complexity and simplicity worked well together. -Stella/Mac, short and sweet oneshot-


**Hi everybody! It's Aly again with another short and sweet one-shot. It's Stella/Mac. **

**Disclaimer- CSI: NY is the sole property of CBS Paramount Television and Jerry Bruckheimer.**

**A/N: I've never written anything this way before, so I hope you like it!**

* * *

Complexity and Simplicity

Mac. M-A-C. Three letters. Simple, short, and sweet. It has a Scottish origin and means 'son'.

Stella. S-T-E-L-L-A. Six letters. More complex, puzzling, yet beautiful. It has a Latin origin and means 'star'.

Two different names. Two different people. Two different lives.

Her first look at him: complex, tough, always worked for justice.

His first look at her: strong, independent, a person who did the right thing.

"Detective Stella Bonasera. Nice to meet you..." a hand was shaken, a new companionship formed.

Years passed, and a stronger bond formed. She was there during his times of trouble, especially on September 11, 2001. He was there during her traumatic moments, like the Frankie Mala incident.

Sad times: Comforting words, whispers of reassurance, sympathetic embraces.

Happy times: Funny jokes, teasing whispers, a pat on the back.

She knew that the complex puzzle that he was was slowly being solved. He could see the pieces of the puzzle that she was slowly coming together.

Pictures being formed, images being seen. His portrait was painted into her mind. Her photo was stored in his brain's memory card. Omnipresent pictures of the other were always seen. Surreptitious glances at each other in the hallway made each of them wonder: "Is it more?"

Days passed, weeks passed, months passed. Sunrise, sunlight, sunset. Moonlight slowly fading away into new light. Another sunrise transforms into a new day.

New days brings new thoughts, new thoughts brings new questions, new questions bring new answers.

And he had a question for her.

Words have a power that most people don't realize. They can hurt, they can bring laughter, they can comfort. It's all about saying the right words.

After many years of dancing and surreptitious glances, he finally found the right words to say. He was finally ready to say those words.

After all, better late than never, right?

He caught her exiting the elevator and fell into stride with her. They walked around the corridors of the lab, a 'home away from home' of sorts. The words were embedded into his memory, ready to be transformed from brain matter into speech.

But he froze.

The words became a tangled mess. The right words fell out of memory and disappeared into darkness. There was one word, however, that he remembered.

"Dinner?" he asked. She looked at him, jade green eyes meeting pale blue orbs. He read those jade green orbs like the pages of a book. If they were a book's print, they would translate to question marks. Many, many question marks. He just wanted to walk away, pretend that this didn't happen.

But the words in her eyes changed. Her eyes lit up as she nodded her head. Y-E-S. Three simple letters; one simple word. _Yes._

The two different lives were gradually converging into each other. Those two different names, two different people, two different lives were soon to become one.

More sunrises, more sunsets. More days, more weeks, more months. More time together, more puzzle solving. More simplicity, less complexity. Though he held a simple name, she knew that he was not a simple person in the beginning. Now, she's finding the side of him that she never thought she'd see. He also thought that there was a puzzle to put together, a mystery that was called 'Stella Bonasera' waiting to be read. Now, he's on the road to solving that mystery.

Now, together, one. Mac and Stella. M-A-C A-N-D S-T-E-L-L-A. They were the two final pieces in a puzzle patiently waiting to be put together.

More days passed, more words written, more pieces put together. Everybody around them knew that they were meant to be together. Mac and Stella were often juxtaposed in conversation. A good number of sentences with Mac often had the name 'Stella' in there somewhere. Everybody around them knew that they were one.

They knew that they were one as well. They were inseparable. Mac knew it. Stella knew it. Everybody knew it. Hell, even the hot dog vendor down the street knew it.

And so Mac had another question for her. He knew that the question was to be more complex than "Dinner?". He had a plan, a plan for the both of them. She wasn't complex to him anymore, and he wasn't complex to her. He had a plan for both of them to live simple lives. Together, one, forever.

He took her to his apartment one day and sat her down on the couch. He knelt down on one knee and fished something out of his pocket.

"Stella Bonasera, will you marry me?"

One simple question, two small tears cascading down her olive cheeks, and one simple answer.

_Yes._

And so it came to be that they were one. They said one simple statement to seal the deal.

Mac smiled. "I do."

Stella's eyes filled with joy. "I do."

Man and wife, till death do they part, one heart in two bodies.

Sometimes complexity and simplicity worked well together.

* * *

**Wow, it seems that the story just wrote itself! I really hope that you will critique me on my writing, seeing as I've never written like this before.**

**Constructive criticism is welcome; reviews are loved and always replied to with a bowl of Ben and Jerry's ;)**


End file.
